Chapter 73 – Companionship

Whoosh!

The illusory form of Pheidippides, composed of light, manifested behind the two as if to bless them.

Not only behind Hanna, but an identical form of the Holy Spirit also appeared behind Duren, causing the Priest Beatus’s eyes to widen in surprise.

“That warrior also has the Holy Spirit’s blessing, just like the Saint Candidate…?”

Lord Ten also wore an astonished expression at the uncommon sight.

However, regardless of the outsiders’ surprise, Hanna did not forget her duty.

“Healing!”

As soon as the duel concluded, Hanna, who had rushed over, cast her healing spell, which seeped into Dice’s chest and arm.

Perhaps due to resonating with the Holy Spirit on Duren’s side, the healing light was even stronger than before.

Dice, whose pallor had slightly improved, readily acknowledged his defeat.

“I lost.”

“If you hadn’t used that new technique at the end, the outcome might have been different.”

Duren sincerely believed so.

The combination of parry and counter he used this time was merely a finishing move he had employed several times in their previous duels, only with reduced execution time.

However, Dice’s accelerated thrust using an Aura explosion was clearly a newly devised technique.

With diminished control over his sword, it was actually easier to deflect than his previous swift swordplay.

“Ah…! But it’s fine. Even though I lost, I got a feel for the new technique. And Elder Sir, you seemed to have established your own swordsmanship at the end, right?”

“Yes, thanks to that, I broke through a wall. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Just as the duel was about to conclude warmly.

The Priest Beatus approached Duren and spoke.

“By any chance, do you know of the existence of the Holy Spirit that has descended upon you?”

“How could I not know?”

At 3-Star, his body couldn’t withstand it, making it more akin to poison than a blessing.

But upon reaching 4-Star, he could fully enjoy the effects of the Eightfold Annihilation granted by Pheidippides’s Primal Spirit God.

Currently, his level was equivalent to 5-Star, just as Hanna had been.

No, considering the boost gained from resonating with Hanna, he could be seen as a state infinitely close to 6-Star.

And there was no way the Priest Beatus could be unaware of that fact.

“From what I see, the Holy Spirit that has descended upon you and our Saint Candidate appears to be the same entity.”

“I agree.”

“That being said, would you accompany us on our pilgrimage?”

At Beatus’s invitation to accompany them, Duren did not answer immediately.

Duren’s warrior ranking had plummeted significantly after spending most of his duel points to challenge the Spirit Domain.

He broached the topic with the intention of accumulating quest points through this opportunity.

“Accompany… Since I am a warrior, if you wish, you can commission me through the Golden Holy War.”

“Ah, I see. It seems you need quest points. Very well. I shall contact you later through the Golden Holy War.”

Beatus readily nodded, fully understanding the implication behind Duren’s counter-proposal.

At that moment, Lord Ten, who had been listening to their conversation nearby, interjected.

“Hoh, by any chance, would you consider taking my son along as well?”

“Huh? Me?”

Dice reacted upon suddenly being mentioned, but Lord Ten ignored him and continued.

“Use him as a squire, a guard knight, or in any way you see fit. Please, help this boy come to his senses.”

“Father! You said you’d overlook the previous incident if I dueled!”

“Indeed. I have turned a blind eye to the damage you caused to the Spirit Domain last time. But as things stand, if you remain in the Spirit Domain, won’t you just go gambling again?”

“Th-that…”

Dice couldn’t deny Lord Ten’s words.

Even when he had become a bandit, he couldn’t break his gambling habit.

“Take this chance to travel the pilgrimage path with these people and come back with some sense.”

As Lord Ten spoke as if Dice’s accompaniment was already decided, the Priest Beatus said with a troubled expression.

“I haven’t yet agreed to take him along.”

“Wha, ah, how could that not be possible?”

“Now that I think of it, the quest points from the Golden Holy War are proportional to the quest reward, right? If someone were to commission a lucrative quest to Mr. Duren on behalf of us poor folks, we might have the leeway to take one more person along.”

“Ah, of course we should cover that. You there, send someone to the Golden Holy War!”

At the priest’s blatant request, Lord Ten immediately called a servant and entrusted a commission to the Golden Holy War.

Seeing this, the Priest Beatus smiled a kindly smile and prayed.

Having only ever seen his suspicious, stern expression, Hanna looked at the Priest Beatus with an expression of witnessing something unsightly upon seeing such a hypocritical smile.

“May the blessing of Radiance be with you.”

“Glory to the Sun.”

Regardless of what was happening beside them, the Priest Beatus and Lord Ten merely smiled and blessed each other.

Hanna was happy because she could gain greater blessings from the Holy Spirit by being with Duren.

Duren was happy because he could receive substantial quest points.

The Priest Beatus was happy because he could save on commission costs.

Lord Ten was happy because he could get rid of his troublesome son.

Except for Dice, who had suddenly and abruptly ended up accompanying the Saint Candidate’s pilgrimage, it was a good outcome for everyone.

* * *

After the duel, Duren decided to stay in a guest room of the lord’s castle until the commission arrived, taking some time for himself.

It was to understand his newly acquired Third awakening skill.

In truth, it was closer to organizing his thoughts by conversing with Lee Hanseong, who resided in his subconscious, rather than thinking alone.

“Fate Severing, Absolute Fate.”

―I roughly understand the principle.

The feat of ultimately defeating all opponents, even those he couldn’t beat initially.

And the Flowing Sword Art obtained at the end of the ordeal.

Adding Lee Hanseong’s knowledge about fate to this yielded the answer.

―It deflects negative fates like the fate of defeat midway and inserts a new flow in its place.

A sword technique that inserts a new conclusion instead of the outcome brought by the existing fate.

Its form wasn’t much different from the Flowing Sword Art.

Only the scope of what could be deflected expanded, and the counterattacks became deeper.

However, Absolute Fate had another utility.

“Then… does that mean I can solve the lifespan issue through this as well?”

―Perhaps.

If Absolute Fate is applied, it’s not impossible to deflect the fate of death and even extend one’s life.

Although Duren had been promoted to the 4-Star level this time, his remaining lifespan couldn’t be said to be plentiful.

While lifespan increases during the moment of upheaval with each Awakening, the amount of increase varies based on the remaining lifespan.

Therefore, the lifespan gained from Awakening while young is inevitably far greater than that gained from Awakening when old.

―From what I know, the lifespan gained during the moment of upheaval is about half again…

Even just before his 1-Star Awakening, Duren’s remaining lifespan was at most three months.

When he began his Historical Alteration this time, the lifespan gained through the Guarantee of the Righteous Will, reaching the 3-Star level, was at most ten months.

In other words, Duren was fated to have already exhausted his lifespan and died two months ago.

―The reason he has endured until now is because Pheidippides’s Holy Light Body is sustaining his life, substituting for his completely depleted lifespan.

“So that’s how it was. No wonder I’ve felt a rising urgency since two months ago.”

Perhaps the reason the Awakening Skill Fate Severing bloomed was because he had already begun employing this method of life extension.

Just as Pheidippides uses Hanna and Duren’s bodies as anchors to maintain the stability of his Primal Spirit God, conversely, Duren also uses Pheidippides as a lifeline.

However, Duren was in the more critical situation.

“I can’t entrust my lifeline solely to another when I don’t know when the Holy Spirit might depart.”

As long as Hanna exists, even if Pheidippides retrieves his Primal Spirit God from Duren’s body, he would only slow his recovery, but Duren would be in a state where dying immediately upon his departure wouldn’t be strange.

Knowing this, Duren intended to solve the lifespan issue first.

“No, I did gain a minuscule amount of lifespan during this upheaval, so perhaps I won’t die immediately even if the Holy Spirit leaves.”

Even so, the increased lifespan is merely a day’s worth.

Still, it’s better than gaining no lifespan at all.

Thanks to that, it seemed he could use this as a starting point to expand his lifespan.

“What should I do?”

―Highly compressed Starlight is no different from life force.

Just as Pheidippides’s Holy Light Body extended the life of Duren, whose lifespan had ended, if Duren himself gathers Starlight comparable to the Holy Light Body, it’s not impossible to replenish his lost lifespan.

Even if he fails, it should be sufficiently possible to preserve his lifespan by substituting the consumption of lifespan with mana.

“While I’m thinking this, precious lifespan continues to dwindle, so I should test it right away.”

Upon hearing the method, Duren immediately activated Absolute Fate.

If Single Flash is in the form of a line, and Rope is in the form of a point, then Absolute Fate is in the form of a circle.

“Absolute Fate…!”

Swoosh—

A sword drawing a perfect circle in the air.

A mental image severing the fate of death looming at close quarters.

The two combine, and a single flow where beginning and end disappear sublimates to a higher dimension, reaching the domain of fate.

Tzzzt, tzzzt, tzzzt!

At that moment, something changed.

―This is…?

“Hoo—.”

Perhaps because, although his lifespan was lacking, his body’s durability itself had risen along with his Grade.

One of Pheidippides’s Skills activates within Duren’s body.

<Lung Capacity Enhancement>.

Though merely a common grade Skill, it’s a Skill that affects breathing.

Repeating deep breaths with the intention of sending air beyond the lungs down to the abdominal cavity.

Through breath control, he guided his own Starlight, spread throughout his body, as he wished.

‘Breath is the sword. Starlight is the flow.’

The essence of the Flowing Sword Art resides in the breath, controlling energy.

Whoosh—

A warm energy swirled wherever Duren’s will reached.

It resembled Mana Circulation, but the pathways were different.

Mana Circulation circulates Starlight along the Skill Circuits engraved in the body, increasing the amount of Starlight one can handle.

‘But the energy flowing now is circulating along the body’s Meridians, not the Skill Circuits.’

According to the necessity of substituting lifespan, the Primordial Chaos Gang Qi taught a new method of Starlight utilization.

A method of stimulating and nurturing the body’s own vitality with Starlight.

[Conditions met. Rare Skill <???> blooms into <Inner Family Qi Art>.]

It was the study of controlling internal energy.

Whoosh!

As when knowledge-type Skills integrated, a cosmic illusion of a swirling galaxy at the universe’s center unfolded before Lee Hanseong’s eyes, and new wisdom flowed in.

The concept of Acupoints and Dantian Breathing.

Small Heavenly Cycle and Grand Heavenly Cycle.

“This knowledge… is it the mana utilization system of the Arthalia Continent?”

―Arthalia Continent?

The concept of an Internal Energy Cultivation Method, something that Martial Artists of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult might use, took root in Duren’s mind through Lee Hanseong.

It was knowledge not unfamiliar to Duren either.

The background of his initial desire to become a warrior included tales of a mysterious other continent and ancient texts said to have come from there.

‘Does the Otherworld have something similar to Murim?’

At Duren’s muttering, Lee Hanseong also realized something.

Although he had accepted Duren’s memories during their first Synchronization, not all memories were clear.

In Duren’s life, mostly filled with training, the memory of the ancient text that became his origin was vague.

But just as forgotten memories can resurface through stimulation.

Thanks to the newly acquired Inner Family Qi Art knowledge, the contents of the ancient text suddenly came to mind.

Flash.

Perhaps because where Lee Hanseong resided was within Duren’s subconscious.

A different landscape, not Duren’s reality, unfolded before his eyes.

Flutter— flutter—

The figure of a boy sitting alone in the family warehouse, reading an ancient text hidden in a corner.

The contents of the ancient text understood by the young Duren were a kind of heroic tale.

A story of a different world where one learns Martial Arts through mind-body training and pursues chivalry with the power accumulated thereby.

“Hmm. If it’s this, I can do it too.”

The more he read the story, the young Duren’s eyes sparkled with a strange yearning.

It was the moment when the concept of Martial Arts—accumulating effort, merit, to build power—showed a new path to the boy who had despaired over his lack of talent.

And back to the present.

Whoom.

As the first Small Heavenly Cycle was completed through Circulating Qi, Duren’s seated body slightly floated in the air before settling back down.

Among Inner Family Qi Arts, the operational method thoroughly specialized in Qi Gathering and recovery was precisely Circulating Qi.

Due to the Eightfold Annihilation from Pheidippides’s Holy Light Body, Starlight overflowed within his body, so the speed at which Internal Energy accumulated was very fast.

“My lifespan… remains the same.”

His lifespan didn’t increase, but it didn’t decrease either.

Before his lifespan wore down, the Internal Energy, the Acquired True Qi, accumulated through Circulating Qi was consumed first, preserving his lifespan, i.e., his Innate True Qi.

―Maintaining the status quo is best for now, but later, as the Proficiency of Circulating Qi increases, it should become possible to replenish the lifespan itself.

“That would be good.”

Although he agreed verbally, honestly, Duren was negative about Lee Hanseong’s opinion.

Within the wisdom gained from Inner Family Qi Art, there was also content stating that narrowing the gap between Acquired and Innate is extremely difficult.

But for now, this much was sufficient.

―Still, it would be good to check the remaining Qi amount regularly. Since Internal Energy is substituting for lifespan, if Internal Energy drops, lifespan will start decreasing again.

“That’s right.”

At Lee Hanseong’s warning, Duren nodded lightly.

“However, I have no intention of completely avoiding techniques like Sword Qi just because I need to conserve Internal Energy.”

―Certainly. Utilizing Internal Energy up to a certain stability line would be good for improving swordsmanship skill as well.

“To do that, first I need to check how much Internal Energy each technique consumes.”

Saying so, Duren brushed himself off, stood up, and headed to the training ground.

He intended to swing his sword and try out swordsmanship utilizing Internal Energy.